Pacific island countries vote to ban asbestos

22 September, 2017 - Apia, Samoa: History was made in Apia last week with the endorsement of initiatives to ban or restrict the importation, re-use and re-sale of products and wastes containing asbestos in Pacific island countries.

The proposal to advance work on banning asbestos, championed by Cook Islands, was agreed to by representatives of the 21 Pacific island and five metropolitan members of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) at its Twenty-eighth Meeting of Officials.

Speaking on behalf of Cook Islands, Director of the Cook Islands National Environment Service, Mr Joseph Brider, expressed delight at the positive outcome:

"The Cook Islands is extremely pleased with the decision of the SPREP Meeting. We believe that it reaffirms that the Pacific islands are truly united in our shared stewardship of the region and our commitment towards a sustainable future."

After fire ripped through the Old Gizo Hospital Building in Solomon Islands in 2016, clean up efforts were complicated by the discovery of asbestos materials in the debris, believed to have originated from newly installed asbestos cladding which continues to be imported and sold in the Solomon Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific. Photo: Brad Wallace

The proposal was co-sponsored by Tonga and Australia, and received strong support from the majority of SPREP Member countries and territories.

Mr Paula Ma'u, Chief Executive Officer of Tonga's Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications, said that the move to ban asbestos in the Pacific is particularly important given the repeated failure of the Rotterdam Convention to reach consensus on the listing of chrysotile asbestos on Annex III of the Convention:

"Tonga is very pleased to have been able to co-sponsor the proposal from Cook Islands to help progress a Pacific regional ban on asbestos. Planning the details of the ban will be important as it will need to allow for the importation of asbestos waste for disposal, as some Pacific islands have limited capacity to safely dispose of legacy asbestos stockpiles."

Information about the extent of asbestos in the Pacific region was very limited until the European Union-funded PacWaste project undertook a Pacific regional asbestos baseline survey in 2014.

The proposal to advance work on banning asbestos was championed at the Twenty-eighth SPREP Meeting by Cook Islands. Pictured here is Mr. Joseph Brider, Director of the Cook Islands National Environment Service, and part of the Cook Islands delegation to the SPREP Meeting. Photo: SPREP

PacWaste is a €7.85 million project funded by the European Union and implemented by SPREP to improve regional hazardous waste management across the Pacific.

The survey found more than 187,000 square metres of confirmed non-residential asbestos across 11 Pacific island countries, 78% of which was classified as either high or moderate risk. The survey also found evidence of new asbestos containing building materials being imported into the region.

At last year's SPREP Meeting of Officials in Niue, SPREP and PacWaste sought support for a similar ban on asbestos. While the proposal received strong support there was apprehension from Members as to how the implementation of such a ban would be resourced.

SPREP's Director General, Mr Kosi Latu, explains that these concerns around resourcing, capacity, and monitoring for a Pacific-wide asbestos ban have since been alleviated, thanks partly to the announcement of new funding from the European Union for a follow-up project called PacWaste Plus:

"This direction from our Members to work with them on banning or restricting the importation, re-use and re-sale of products and wastes containing asbestos will make great inroads into ensuring the safety of future generations from the harmful effects of asbestos."

Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation for the Pacific, Mr Christoph Wagner, noted the leadership shown by Pacific island countries to progress asbestos restriction initiatives:

"We welcome this decision from Pacific Island nations to work towards joining 59 other countries, including all member states of the European Union, to ban asbestos. It's a fantastic outcome for the health and wellbeing of communities across the Pacific region, and an effective recognition of the work undertaken through PacWaste and planned for PacWaste Plus."